Posted on 11/23/2006 1:40:47 PM PST by neverdem
When "Seinfeld" comedian Michael Richards lost his cool and began a racist rant at some noisy customers in a Hollywood comedy club, it seemed to surprise a number of people. It shouldn't. What is actually surprising is that it has taken this long for some airhead made famous by a very popular but insipid television series to flip out within the context of today's minstrel entertainments.
Naturally, a lawyer representing the affronted audience members did not feel that it was enough for Richards to apologize on television; he still needs to pay them some money for what they had to suffer at his hands.
The question, however, is what exactly did the patrons suffer?
What they actually suffered, if anything, was an unintended caricature of a redneck in heated rage, expressing conventional disdain for black people. Richards said that 50 years ago, the black members of the noisy group of comedy club customers would have been hanged, and stabbed in the backside with a pitchfork. Before leaving the stage, Richards reminded the assembled that when it was all over, he would still be wealthy and the black people would still be, well, N-words.
The painfully unfunny comedian Paul Rodriguez performed on the same stage that evening and told the press that if one uses the N-word and is not African-American, a lot of explaining will have to be made.
In the interest of equality, no black comedian should get a pass when using insulting and denigrating words in the middle of an act. It all seems very simple to me. We do not need to accept the conventions of insult and denigration that have been established by black comedians and rappers.
And I do not feel that there should be a freedom of speech issue raised either. Nor do I feel that any laws need to be passed.
This was another moment to question what the ongoing vulgarization of our popular culture has actually come to mean. Two groups - women and black people - are disdainfully addressed and demeaned constantly. Only one has made any protest against being the constant butt of overstated vulgarity. White women have stood up against the misogyny in popular entertainment, but black people have not had much to say about the denigration.
Rap producers and others in the business of selling anything that gives a little spice to the minstrel content of our popular culture have been known to claim that the N-word has become a common means of expression and has taken on a universal understanding through rap. We can now be treated to young people of all ethnic groups referring to each other when using the word.
Does that prove anything? I think not. When Richard Pryor first made liberal use of the N-word, he could not have imagined what emerged in the wake of his performances. But when Pryor himself took a position against minstrel updates, no one listened to him. He had passed out the right of irresponsibility and could not take it back.
So what remains before us is the issue of coming to terms with a popular culture in which the N-word, bitches and hos have become no more than condiments in a particularly unappetizing meal. We need not ban their use, but we do need to face the fact that we have been hustled far more often than not.
"It was important for him to get right out and say he's sorry," said Wallace. "Jerry dropped his own standup bit on the show to make room for Michael.
"But this will damage him for a long time. You can go on TV every day and apologize and people will say you didn't."
Asked how he felt about Richards' outburst, Wallace - who is black - cracked, "It's about time someone told those Negroes to shut up."
****
He is a very funny guy. I feel like I've been laughing with him for thirty years. I saw him a few times live. He's an old pro.
He always wanted to be a comedian even when he was a little boy. But he went and got two degrees in marketing and sales at Akron (Ohio) way back when. Then he went off to try his hand at what he really wanted to do. I'm glad that he did.
He is a very funny guy.
He is a very funny guy.............. and he is black.
"prior to the Lenny Bruce generation"
The Lenny Bruce generation? Lenny would have been 81 this year (just one year older than Marilyn Monroe). Oy vay.....
"The question, however, is what exactly did the patrons suffer?"
Evidently, they suffered a greatly enhanced sense of opportunity for unearned revenue.
He's also Seinfeld's mentor, former room mate and friend.
I like that, we ought to be able to laugh at such name calling.. and take it with a grain of salt. I'm Italian and if you call me a greaseball, dago or guinea, I could care less, whether you meant it in fun or not.
Hey Wap! Get Offa da lawn!
I remember when we heard stuff like that on TV all the time in the Archie Bunker days.
You are right, we should be able to laugh at that kind of stuff. PC ness has gone way too far, and causes more hate than name calling ever did.
Yes, and I suspect it's been a long time since Richards actually worked outdoors under the hot sun.
I agree. On the one hand we are encouraged to be cruder and more offensive all the time because that "pushes the envelope" and somehow constant envelope pushing is a good thing (Is there an "envelope" anywhere that has not been "pushed" to the breaking point?). On the other hand, we are supposed to be extremely sensitive and it is considered the hightes virtue to be constantly offended at everyone and everything. Imagined slights become real and real insults become thought crimes, only it is also a thought crime to not be offending or offended. This chaos accomplishes two things:
1. A general breakdown in civilized norms creates opportunities for degenerates, demagogues and criminals.
2. Someone has to enforce the double-standards and this is an opportunity for the high priests of political correctness to dictate how people will be "offended" or not. It is like something out of "1984."
If Barbra Streisand can have paid hecklers in the crowd she can use an excuse to launch into an anti-Bush tirade, why can't Richards have paid black hecklers in the crowd for him to denigrate, conveniently caught on video and timed to happen at the same time Seinfeld's next season is released on DVD?
They probably told the dolt to say something controversial but then he took it too far and it backfired on him.
I smell a set-up.
Nice to see a limosine liberal get their racism caught on camera. Watch how hollyweird will attempt to cover for their brother.
"Is this where I git me a fishin' license?" ... Jon Carry in Wisconsin during the 2004 campaign
I think George is a good bit older than Jerry ............ but if he was Jerry's mentor, that's great. George is a very wise comedian.
I don't think I could have been so decent as most of them have been through all the really awful and despicable treatment over the years.
From Boston Herald Inside Track:
http://thetrack.bostonherald.com/moreTrack/view.bg?articleid=168650
"...Two other comedy club patrons Carol Oschin and J.P. Fillet, reported to TMZ.com that Richards’ recent racial rant at the West Hollywood laugh palace was a flashback to the not-so-stand-up guy’s gig at The Improv in La-La in April. The duo recalled that in the middle of Richards’ skit, a man in the crowd yelled something to the comedian whereupon Kramer’s alter ego launched into an anti-Semitic diatribe.
Oschin said Richards started shouting, “You (bleep)ing Jew. You people are the cause of Jesus dying.”
Again, sound familiar?
He continued railing against the man until storming off the stage in a fit, she said.
As for Richards’ April outburst, Rubenstein says his client insisted that he’s “not anti-Semitic,” and “was playing a role and poking fun at the rednecks.”
Yep.
Wrong........ if anything Richard's explosion will hurt sales.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.